


Nothing on You

by nazsaidit



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 07:07:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17617796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazsaidit/pseuds/nazsaidit
Summary: 2012“No shit?”Jamie sounds a little incredulous and still a bit distrustful of why Tyler’s talking to him.“Yeah bro, for real! I was so hungry, and I didn’t wanna go out, and it was, like, the only thing I had. So. 35 cups of that protein fake pudding shit.”





	Nothing on You

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday tyler, I hope your kids and everyone gave you all the love and smooches you deserve. 
> 
> Title from Heart is Full by Miike Snow. 
> 
> Inspired by a tweet of a tumblr screenshot I can no longer find rip.

**2012**

 

“No shit?”

 

Jamie sounds a little incredulous and still a bit distrustful of why Tyler’s talking to him. 

 

“Yeah bro, for real! I was so hungry, and I didn’t wanna go out, and it was, like, the only thing I had. So. 35 cups of that protein fake pudding shit.” 

 

Tyler’s pouting now. He knows he’s being a little too obvious and that if Z was there he’d be getting the Dad Stare of Disappointment (™) but hey. The sting of his captain not choosing him yet is helping him ignore it. Plus, Jamie’s too hot to be sitting alone in a corner, so plopping down next to him and regaling him with as many stories as possible it is. The hair is a little unfortunate, but Tyler’s seen his tape. If anything, all he wants out of this weekend is for one Jamie Randolph Benn to crush him into the boards at least once. Maybe if he’s lucky, Jamie will go for a brojob or some shit like that. Tyler knows what his mouth looks like and even straight guys won’t say no to the chance of getting their dicks sucked. And if Jamie says no? Well that’s fine, he’s managed to  _ no homo _ his way through staying in the closet for this long. 

 

“Shiiiiit. Do we play each other again this season, I don’t remember. You’d like my brother, Jordie, I think.” 

 

Jamie nudges him with his shoulder, eyes crinkling as he grins at Tyler. For a second, he can actually feel his heart skip a beat, the tell-tale warmth of his cheeks and ears flushing a bright red. He  _ knows _ he’s being too obvious and way less careful about his attraction to Jamie than he should be, but the cameras are off of them and they’re surrounded by hockey players, so really who cares? He’s not even 20 years old yet, a Stanley Cup champion, and he’s at his first All-Star game. 

 

He’s saved from coming up with a response that’ll sound vaguely normal when he hears Z’s voice calling out his name. 

 

“Catch you on the flip side, bro.” 

 

He pats Jamie’s (well-formed) shoulder as he gets up to leave. 

 

“See you later diet pudding cup boy.”

 

Tyler’s still laughing as he walks away. 

  
  


**2013**

 

Dallas is. Well, it’s hot. Objectively, he knew it was hot, given its general location and vague memories of coming down for past games that were overshadowed by memories of his now former team. But even after being outside for only a couple minutes walking from the plane to the gate, Tyler’s sweating like crazy. Hopefully he’ll have the chance to freshen up a bit before they place him in front of any cameras or anything. He jolts out of his thoughts when he hears a familiar voice. 

 

“Pudding!”

 

Jamie’s there, along with another bearded redhead. Tyler makes his way over to them, rolling his suitcase along while weaving through the crowd. No one acknowledges him or gives him a second glance. He greets Jamie with a one-armed hug, and plasters a smile on his face for the other man standing beside them. 

 

“Glad you could make it, man. This is my brother, Jordie.”

 

Now that he mentions it, the resemblance is definitely there. 

 

“The one you said I’d get along with? Nice to meet you bro.” Tyler’s smile softens and becomes real.

 

Jamie looks a bit surprised and pleased. 

 

“You remember that?” 

 

In that moment, Tyler is so incredibly grateful for the heat and its ability to excuse how flushed he is. 

 

“Dude are you kidding? You were one of my fave things about the All-Star weekend. Wouldn’t have made it through waiting to be drafted without you.”

 

They stand there for a moment grinning madly at each other before Jordie clears his throat. 

 

“So. ‘Pudding’ huh? Where’d that come from?” 

 

There’s a brief tussle when Jamie goes to take Tyler’s suitcase from him right as he shifted to turn his attention to Jordie. Jamie emerges victorious and starts walking towards the exit. Tyler rolls his eyes and falls in step with Jordie. 

 

“Last year, I was telling him about how I once ate 35 of those diet pudding cups because I didn’t have anything else to eat. He started calling me ‘diet pudding cup boy’ so yeah. Too long to shout at the airport I guess.” He shrugs, trying to be nonchalant. 

 

“Fuck, that settles it,” Jordie says, bringing Tyler in for a noogie, and ignoring his squawking. “You’re coming over after we drop your shit off at the hotel so we can feed you some actual food.”

  
  


**2019**

 

Tyler’s wincing as he peels off his gear. He can’t see it, but he knows his shoulder is going to be a riot of colors, the deep ache of a new bruise pulsing through him. He rolls it a couple times, front and back, testing out his range of movement before he can feel the joints crack and pop. He’ll have to ice it when he gets home. 

 

“Y’alright puddin?” Jamie asks him in his soft voice, hovering in front of him. 

 

Tyler lets his head fall forward, burying his face into Jamie’s midsection. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the near-invisible appendectomy scar. 

 

“Mmmm. Need to ice my shoulder when I get home.”

 

“Want me to come with?” 

 

Those are Jamie’s fingers brushing over his bruised shoulder, he registers at the back of his mind. He nods, not feeling the energy to speak at the moment. There’s a muffled wave of laughter around the room, and someone throws a roll of tape at them. 

 

“Come on lovebirds! Go celebrate at home!” Rads yells out, a chorus of voices joining to agree. 

 

Tyler halfheartedly waves a hand in Rads’ direction. 

 

“Gotta shower ‘nd shit first. Help me up, babe?” He directs the last question at Jamie, tilting his head up to catch his gaze, chin digging into his stomach. 

 

He’s unceremoniously hauled to his feet a few seconds later. He flashes a grateful smile over his shoulder as Jamie pushes him in the direction of the showers. 

 

“I’ll be waiting for you by my car, okay?” Jamie calls after him. He makes a noise of assent and promptly gets lost in his thoughts. 

 

On the drive home he catches Jamie glancing at him in concern, Tyler’s unusual silence lingering in the air between them. It lasts past Jamie punching in the code to the gate from memory, getting inside and checking on the dogs, and Jamie grabbing an ice pack and a towel from the kitchen before Tyler speaks to him. 

 

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

 

He’s turned away from him, Jamie holding the towel-wrapped ice pack to Tyler’s shoulder. 

 

“Does what bother me?” Jamie’s sitting close enough behind him that his breath ruffles the ends of his hair. 

 

“That Rads and the others think we’re together.” He squeezes his eyes shut, but all it does is make him more aware of Jamie’s presence. 

 

“It doesn’t. I thought it didn’t bother you though.”

 

“Well,” Tyler’s exhales tightly, “it does.”

 

The silence in the air is awkward in a way it hasn’t been since the summer Tyler came back to Dallas to find Jamie had a girlfriend he hadn’t mentioned, leaving him unsure and wrong-footed over the following months. 

 

“What about it bothers you? Because if it’s because you don’t think a couple of guys can date, then you’re not the person I thought you were.” His voice is even, not giving anything away. 

 

Tyler twists around to look at him incredulously. 

 

“Dude. You’ve  _ met _ guys I’ve dated, and now you’re asking if I’m homophobic? I mean, yeah I definitely was at some point and internalized a lot of it, but I worked my way past it?” 

 

This time, it’s Jamie staring skeptically at him.

 

“Since  _ when _ have you dated guys? And  _ who _ ? I’d definitely remember you introducing me to a boyfriend.” He’s still holding the ice pack. 

 

“Since, like, always!” Tyler can feel himself getting hysterical. “And you’re not the only person who can stay friends with their exes!”

 

“Well I didn’t know that!”

 

“And now you do! Jesus fuck, Benny, it’s been  _ years _ .” 

 

They stare at each other for a second before dissolving into giggles. 

 

“Okay, okay, okay.” Jamie forces himself to calm down. “So. You date guys.” 

 

Tyler nods once, wary now. 

 

“Did you know that I date guys?”

 

Tyler nods again. 

 

“Jordie hinted at it very heavily, back when me and him had our whole discussion about the ‘steers and queers’ thing when I got to Dallas and I ended up coming out to him.”

 

“Wait,” Jamie interrupts him. “Jordie knew?”

 

“Uhhh,  _ yeah _ ?”

 

“ _ Since the beginning _ ?!” 

 

At Tyler’s nod, Jamie lets out a breath. 

 

“Okay.” 

 

He motions for Tyler to turn around again, waving the damp towel, the ice pack thawing inside and soaking its wrapping. He presses it back against his shoulder, shushing him when he lets out a hiss at the cold. 

 

“That’s it? Just ‘okay?’”

 

There’s a rustle of clothing as Jamie shrugs. 

 

“I guess? What do you want me to say?” 

 

“I dunno, man. But hey,” he jokes, “at least I wasn’t making my dumb crush on you  _ that _ obvious if you didn’t realize it for this long.” 

 

Jamie stills. 

 

“Since when did you have a crush on me?” 

 

Tyler twists around again.

 

“Since the day we met and I sat down next to you trying to impress you with my stupid jokes and lame stories about  _ how I ate 35 fucking pudding cups _ .” He can hear the way his voice gets shriller with each word. 

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yes, ‘oh,’” he says through gritted teeth. 

 

Jamie’s smiling a little at him, and for once it just makes Tyler angry. 

 

“So…” 

 

“Please leave,” Tyler interrupts. “I’ll finish icing my shoulder by myself.”

 

Jamie relinquishes his hold on the ice pack, raising his hands deferentially. 

 

“Whatever you want. Can I ask you something before I head out?” 

 

There are tears prickling at the back of Tyler’s eyes, and he blinks quickly, willing them away, before Jamie can see them falling. 

 

“What is it?” His voice shakes slightly.

 

“Since we’re now on the same page, I was wondering…” he smirks a little, the corners of his mouth twitching up. “Are we in a relationship or is this more of a brolationship?”

 

Tyler sucks in a breath the minute his brain parses the words. 

 

“Oh my fucking god. That was possibly the worst thing to come out of your mouth and I was there for your ‘bunch mox’ incident.  _ Dude _ .”

 

“What? I was just curious!” Jamie’s properly laughing now. 

 

“‘ _ Brolationship _ ,’ the fuck. Straight people come up with the weirdest fucking terms, I swear.” Tyler’s laughing again too. “But yeah, I mean. If you’re down to, like, date or whatever, I’m obviously down.”

 

“Cool.” 

 

“Dude, I just lay my fucking heart out in front of you an–”

 

In all 7 years since that first meeting, Tyler has imagined kissing Jamie in so many different times and ways. The reality of it is the furthest thing from any of his daydreams or late night fantasies. Their noses bump, their teeth click together, and it’s more wet than he usually prefers. All in all, it’s  _ perfect _ . His hands come up to hold Jamie’s face as Jamie wraps his arms around him. He pushes forward, straddling Jamie’s lap now. 

 

They separate briefly and Tyler makes a wounded noise until Jamie starts pressing biting kisses down his throat. The scrape of their beards is going to leave telling marks for anyone to see. Jamie sucks a bruise onto his collarbone before pulling away. 

 

“Hey Ty?”

 

Tyler has to wait for his brain to reboot. Everything feels hazy and his heart is probably beating faster than it was during the game. 

 

“Yeah?”

 

Jamie pecks a soft kiss to his mouth. 

 

“Happy birthday, puddin.”

 

Tyler swats at him lightly and Jamie pushes him back. They wrestle around on the couch, hands wandering over previously uncharted skin as they move. It devolves back into making out, Tyler spread out beneath Jamie, running his hands up and down Jamie’s back, slipping under his shirt. For a brief moment, he catches sight of the clock through hooded eyes. It’s just past midnight, officially his 27th birthday. Somewhere, his phone is starting to buzz with notifications of messages from his friends and family, but he ignores it. He’s kissing the man he loves, and that’s all he wants to do for the foreseeable future. 

 

So he does. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [Jill](http://venvephe.tumblr.com) for cheerleading and not minding my texts over how I kept getting further and further into the story aND THEY STILL HAVENT KISSED YET. 
> 
> Follow me on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/secretlygrandr) (where I’m most active) or on tumblr ([main](http://actuallysecretlygrantaire.tumblr.com) or [writing](http://nazsaidit.tumblr.com))


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